Ongoing San Diego Visit List

(A work perpetually in progress)

The San Diego Zoo

Needs no explanation. My parents bought us an annual membership so we could drop in for an hour or two as often as we like. Biggest hits so far: the snakes, the snakes, the monkeys, the koalas, and the snakes.

Mariam Mother of Life Shrine

This beautiful statue of Mary is over twenty feet tall and can be glimpsed from the nearby freeway. It sits behind St. Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church. Around the base of the statue, the Hail Mary is written in English and Aramaic. Mary stands at the top of a curving staircase; under her base is a domed alcove upon whose wall is painted a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Simply breathtaking.

Balboa Park: Japanese Tea House, Spreckles Organ Pavilion

Our first pilgrimage to San Diego's famous Balboa Park (not counting zoo trips—the zoo is part of the enormous downtown park complex) was the occasion of a happy meeting among friends: our pal Stefoodie and her lovely family carved out an afternoon of their San Diego vacation to spend time with my gang and our friends the Sanchezes. We met for lunch at the Japanese Tea House (mmm, teriyaki bowl...) and then wandered over to the Organ Pavilion, a large outdoor amphitheatre, the perfect place for moms to sit and chat while the kids ran up and down the aisles.

Here's a new post with lots more pictures of the Japanese Garden and other Balboa Park sights.

And here's one about our visit to the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Point Loma Lighthouse / Cabrillo National Monument

I wrote about our visit to beautiful Point Loma, with its views of San Diego Bay and the Pacific, here.

La Jolla Cove—harbor seals!

Coronado Bridge

Silver Strand

Birch Aquarium

 

The kids (with grandparents):

Legoland
Del Mar beach